Tips for buying a Fluke 87 off ebay

[doctorm]

so i looked through ebay for fluke 87 and came up some good sellers that sold 87 III up to 87 V.

the problem is im not too used to ebay and some of the comments or whatever you call them that buyers leave behind were 2 or 3 neutral/bad ones to a few thousand good ones.

also i know the 87 V is good but i dont have much knowledge on the III and IV versions of the multimeters.

so can anyone give me some tips/advice on how to buy a fluke multimeter on ebay so i dont get screwed out of money and i get a multimeter that will actually work for me?

[Kiriakos-GR]

I had pass from the same river .. and I did not get wet 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=354.0

[saturation]

On eBay, its a matter of risk management.  One way to reduce your risk:

• Seller has 99%, preferably 100% Positive rating
• High total number of sales: 100% on 2 sales vs 100% on 1000 sales says a lot
• Buy only with no question asked return guarantee
• Device is certified to be working, better if calibrated
• For the 87, pay no more than $200 delivered. Near $100 is better

Nothing is guaranteed though. Buying new is the lowest risk as you can return it no matter what within the proper time, and if you keep it have a "lifetime" warranty. 

Example, these appear to be 87 -1 models:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluke-87-Tested-100-comes-7-day-return-/170507910037?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b3103b95

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluke-87-Multimeter-CALIBRATED-leads-/170509418788?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b3274124

For better condition 87V used and some new models between $200-300 check Amazon.com.

Brief history: 87 1-3 are not CAT III/IV rated as it was made before the rating was invented.  However, it does meet these specs closely.  They have no backlighting and you have to open the case completely to change batteries.  Older holsters have the wire stand.  Unless mentioned, 1-3 can suffer from dirty LCD connectors, you can fix it with an upgrade kit or clean the connector with an eraser.

[McPete]

On the stability/calibration front; I tend to find 87 IIIs meet their specs quite easily despite age and lots of use, with one exception- very low value capacitance. On a good day they'll be around 75% of their tolerance. On a bad day, they require much fiddling with leads to get them to pass.

I did see a pair of Series 4s recently, and aside from needing a new interface lead to make them talk, I can't tell you that much about them. I didn't know they existed until they turned up for calibration. Being essentially a 189/7 though, I would suggest they're likely pretty tough customers too.

Tips for purchasing- Hard if you can't actually see it in person. I'd be looking for deep scratches, dents and other physical indications of abuse. The difference between a clean-looking meter and a dirty one is 5 minutes and a bottle of metho, so that's not much help, but it MAY indicate someone who actually looks after their gear.

Everything else I would normally suggest requires you to actually be able to handle the instrument.

[JeanF]

Hello,

sorry to dig up this thread from the dark ages, but my question is closely related (mods : please tell me if I'm wrong)

I hesitate over buying a 87 V, and I see there are at the moment several UK sellers offering (seemingly) new and boxed units, with accessories, at around 300 EUR/ 250 GBP
http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=fluke%2087v&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=3&_trksid=p2045573.m1684
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xfluke+87v.TRS0&_nkw=fluke+87v&_sacat=0

these don't look like new old stock, as some of them describe the meters as "manufactured in 2016" or similar. All these sellers seem to have very good ratings.
In my country the retail price is more about 500 EUR / 400 GBP (very rough conversion here, but you see the point), some overly optimistic guys such as Conrad even sell it for 600 EUR

http://content.fluke.com/pdf/ttc-pricelist/france-fre.pdf
http://content.fluke.com/pdf/ttc-pricelist/united-kingdom-eng.pdf

Can someone guess some sort of explanation ? Could these ebay one be fakes ? I find it very strange to see such a difference in price. Of course the safe way would be to go to RS or Farnell and spend the regular price, but would you give it a try to save 200 EUR ? does it look risky ?

PS I'm used to ebay, I know there are often price variations, but usually not by this amount...

Thank you for your opinions !

[rrinker]

 I checked the first link and randomly clicked one of the results and saw that the seller had over 650 feedback, all 100% positive. While that's no guarantee, it's a good sign they are not just going to take your money and not deliver a meter.
 On the second link, 3 of them I randomly clicked on to see the details all had very few feedbacks - under 10 in 2 cases. That's a bit of a reed flag to me.
 Depends on your needs, but my only brand new meter is my EEVBlog Bryman, it more than meets my needs and is way cheaper than the 87V, even the discount ones.

[retiredcaps]

Could these ebay one be fakes ?

There are no fake Fluke 87V as far as I know.  There is, however, a Chinese only market of the Fluke 87V called Fluke 87VC. See

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-87-v-c/

If you care about Fluke's "Lifetime warranty" or 10 years minimum, buying a meter off ebay despite what the seller claims will likely not qualify as an "authorized dealer" in Fluke's eyes.  That is, if the Fluke 87V dies and you send it to Fluke, they will deny you free warranty service and charge $$$.

If you don't care about warranty and will not be using this in any high energy situations, then try to pay a low cost to offset that risk.  For example, if a brand new Fluke 87V costs $500 CDN, I would try to buy a new or used one for $150 CDN.  That way, I could buy two for about $300 CDN and not worry if one dies.

The details of Fluke's warranty is clearly explained and spelled out in the Fluke 87V user manual at fluke.com.

[Johnny10]

I own 2- Fluke 87 iii DMM's.
Not bought off e-Bay although I have purchased many thousands of dollars of test equipment from that source.
Mine were purchased at local pawn shops for 50 each.
One of the great things about Fluke 87's units is they are really tough.
Quite reliable and easy to fix.

If I were looking to buy another.. I would go for the V version. Just for the better capacitor range.
I use both units everyday and capacitor range is a weak spot for the 87 iii.


Another important point is to get one with the original fluke probes.
They are quite expensive to buy separately.
I have not found the cheaper versions to be worth the money.

Kiriakos-GR listed a very complete link on the 87 series. Well worth the read.

And don't worry too much about dirty yellow cases they clean-up to like new very easily with some gojo.
My units were from an automotive garage and were filthy and greasy.
As for buying on eBay.
I have found buying from the surplus equipment guys has been the easiest. Mostly good packaging and they offer returns.
These units are light weight so no problem with shipping.

[JeanF]

thank you for your replies !

good point about the warranty, and about getting a used one.

i'll let you know when I decide!